Program 4Helgi's new piece - 7 for 8

Traveling again (hence my nom de plume) I was lucky enough to find myself in San Francisco yesterday in time for the 2pm performance: Paquita, 7 for 8 and Carnival of the Animals.

The dancers looked great (second casts mostly), although the corps was still a bit ragged in Paquita. The principles and soloists all did well (forgot who I saw, sorry). Helgi's new ballet requires more than 1 viewing. I found it very structured and classical - few 'emotional moves' (whatever that means), but punctuated with surprising elements here and there. What I found technically most impressive was the way men glided the women around the floor in very smooth, effortless circles. And I mean glided. I've seen this when men drag women across the floor and they always bounce to the step of the man, ruining the illusion. Somehow, these dancers avoided that, making the step seem otherworldly. How do they do that?

Finishing out the program was Carnival of the animals. I think this piece has the potential of being the 'Peter and the wolf" of the ballet. The teh choreography is crafted well enough and steps are complex enough to satisfy any adult. Yet the story and characters are simple and entertaining enough to satisfy any child. I expect we'll see this Ballet on many programs of many Ballet companies in the future.

I was fortunate to have seen this program last night. All that I can say is WOW!!! I loved Helgi's new piece. The men of SFB are so amazing. Everyone just glided through the piece, it was breathtaking. Loved every movement of it, every minute of it.
Paquita looked a lot better than last year. Again, I was most impressed by Guinadi N. Wow, again.
Carnival of the Animals is cute. Not my favorite, but cute. It was fun to watch and looked fun to dance. I loved Muriel M. as the dying swan. Perfect for the part. Elizabeth Miner was very cute as the elephant. She is getting to dance more this season.
Great night at the ballet.